Beavers Hang on against Ravens in HCAC Tournament

Fifth-seeded Bluffton University (16-9) hung onto a 73-65 victory against the fourth-seeded Anderson University women's basketball (16-10) team during Tuesday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Quarterfinal in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In a defensive first quarter, the Ravens held a 12-11 lead through the first 10 minutes.
• Bluffton entered halftime with a 32-31 lead.
• The Beavers pulled ahead to a 54-45 lead through three quarters.
• Lauren Smith hit a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 37 seconds left in the game to cut the score to 63-58.
• On the inbound, Jade Shipley forced a held ball, making it Anderson's possession. Lexi Dellinger was fouled, hit two free throws to cut the score to 63-60.
• Kayla Prigge knocked down a critical 3-pointer to give Bluffton a 66-60 lead with 1:00 remaining.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Bluffton powered to a 55-39 rebounding advantage.
• Anderson converted just 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) attempts from the free-throw line. Bluffton hit 20-of-27 (74.1 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
• The Ravens made 10-of-37 (27.0 percent) shots from 3-point range while the Beavers knocked down 9-of-22 (40.9 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
• Anderson converted 23-of-66 (34.8 percent) attempts from the field while Bluffton hit 22-of-68 (32.4 percent) shots from the floor.
• The Beavers committed 14 turnovers while the Ravens turned the ball over 11 times. Anderson charged to a 19-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
• Lexi Dellinger – 20 Points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Blocks
• Lauren Smith – 16 Points
• Makynlee Taylor – 9 Points, 9 Rebounds, 4 Steals
• Bella Larrison – 8 Points
• Jade Shipley – 5 Points
• Jada Stansberry – 4 Points
• Izzy Davis – 3 Points
• Anderson's three seniors Lexi Dellinger, Jade Shipley and Brookelynn Cardwell each closed out their collegiate careers with Tuesday's contest.

COACH JON GIN'S COMMENTS

• It's a disappointing way to end our season for sure. We played really hard and I'm proud of the way we fought back in the second half. We just had a couple of unlucky possessions that didn't go our way.
• Our two Achilles heels really came back to haunt us:  they killed us on the glass and we didn't shoot it very well from the free-throw line.
• I can't say enough about our three seniors. They have meant so much to our program the last two years. I'm so honored that I got to coach them and can't wait to see how they go out an impact the world.